Sandcastles
by Kimimi72
Summary: It started out as it would any other year, a simple trip to the ocean with her family. At least, it seemed that way, until a strange boy would change her forever.     Stupid summary... rating may change!


** A bit of an explaination before this begins seems to be required... This first chapter is... odd. I experienced alot of writer's block for the plot of the first chapter, but I do promise it'll only get better, if everything works out.**

** This is a crack pairing fanfic, but not majorly so. It's mainly based on Sealand/Seychelles (Peter/Michelle as human names), but can also be taken as more as a best friend kind of relationship. It all depends how you look at it :) There'll be other pairings along the way, but none in this first chapter, so I will put warnings along the way. **

** So yes, alot of this is awkwardly written and rushed, but simply to start things off and introduce some of the cast. Hopefully you can enjoy until things get better! **

** Also, I apologize for any grammer/spelling mistakes. My Microsoft word wasn't working and this had to be typed up in WordPad, which doesn't help me at all...**

** And just for those who don't know: **

** Michelle = Seychelles Matthew = Canada Francis = France Bushy-Eyebrow Man = England and The Boy with Bushy-Eyebrow Man = Sealand**

** Thanks for reading~! **

Michelle Bonnefoy skirted the edge of the ocean, the edges of her toes just barely poking at the surface of the foamy blue water. She smiled a bit, shivering in the delight that she could start another summer here, spending her time by the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

For the time being, she was one of the only ones there, the beaches still empty due until the afternoon rush would begin. This would be one of her only times to actual enjoy the beautiful scene without the annoying company of other humans.

So for now, until her moment of peace would be interuptted, she simply paced back and forth across a small strip of sand, placing each of her footsteps precisely so it would create a new footprint for the waves to take over when high tide arrived. She continued this for what felt like only a few minutes but had gradually turned into at least an hour, her strip of sand now half covered in prints and half covered in the more muddy, water-packed sand the ocean had created.

She turned her head, pushing a few pieces of dark brown hair from in front of her eyes, and examined an approaching crowd of people, a man and a woman with a very excited looking group of three small children. Ah, the afternoon buzz was about to begin. She smiled a bit sadly, wiggling a couple of her fingers in a goodbye wave towards the dark waters, and turned in the direction she had come, up a slope of sand towards the beach house her family had rented out.

When she finally arrived at the front door, she brushed some remaining particles of sand from her blue sundress and stepped inside, immediately being greeted by the smell of lunch being cooked and the cold embrace of air conditioning.

"I'm back," she called out, heading into the kitchen to try and find any signs of human life.

"Ah Michelle, we were wondering where you went off to," her father, a bright eyed French chef, Francis Bonnefoy, smiled.

"You should know by now. It's been 3 years and I still do the same thing every time we come here. It's a tradition now," Michelle shrugged.

"Well still. If you had a daughter you'd always be worrying over where she went," Francis hummed, ruffling her hair before returning to cooking. His eyes glazed over in concentration, and it was quite clear to Michelle the conversation was over.

With nothing left to talk about, she made her way to her room, not even noticing the soft "Hello..." coming from her older brother, Matthew Bonnefoy.* Not that this was an uncommon thing though, he wasn't exactly the one to stand out in a crowd. She didn't even realize she'd forgotten to say hello to him until she reached the pale cream curtains that served as a door to her room, but deciding she could make it up to him later, she simply stepped inside.

Michelle still hadn't adapted to this room (this being a different beach house then the one they usually rented), with its pale wooden walls and sliding glass door that led out to a small deck overlooking the beach and ocean. The bed was a hammock, something she hadn't expected but welcomed, and the ceiling was painted with soft swirls of blue on a white canvas, which led her to multiple ocean related dreams during the night.

Outside the door, she could hear the laughs and cheers of people at the beach, enjoying their time along the sandy shoreline, amazed by the pristine beauty of the dark waters that went on for what seemed like forever. Hearing them almost made Michelle jealous, wishing that she could have more time there besides the short, peaceful morning hours, but knowing she'd rather have that short time in then share these afternoons with everyone else. The morning had become her private time with the Atlantic. She supposed it was only fair that everyone else had some time as well.

Eventually, deciding moping over her lost time among the waves was a stupid way to spend her afternoon, Michelle rolled herself off of the hammock, peeking once out the door to catch a glimpse of the ocean before hurrying back downstairs.

Francis had almost finished preparing lunch, and Matthew still remained at the table, looking a little hurt from his earlier ignorance when she returned. "S-sorry 'bout that Mattie," she smiled nervously, hugging him.

"I-It's ok..." he shrugged, looking less offended now, "Not like I'm not used to it..."

"Still. What kind of little sister doesn't say good morning to her big brother," Michelle smirked, patting his head before taking a seat at the table.

Francis served lunch only a minute later, chatting happily with them about their plans. That was one thing Michelle wasn't exactly sure of yet... what do do when the ocean was reserved and she could only spend her time on land. Sure, there was alot to do here, but deciding just what would entertain her seemed to be a challenge.

"A-ah well... I-I was going to walk along the boardwalk if you want to come Michelle," Matthew suggested, his voice still barely above a whisper. It seemed like, unless absolutely neccissary, the boy would never speak at a regular volume...

"Alright!" Michelle chirped, quite pleased to have somewhere to be instead of trapped inside all day. The wooden walls of the beachhouse lost their appeal quickly after a few hours inside them, and she could only avoid the fresh Flordia air for so long.

With that, they finished up their meal and the siblings prepared to leave, Matthew hurrying to his room to change while Michelle rushed outside, smiling brightly as a warm breeze hit her skin. The relaxed atmosphere Tampa radiated distracted her from the tug the ocean seemed to produce and the relentless whispers of sea air.**

Matthew made his way outside only a minute later, giving her a quick thumbs up and leading the way towards the beach, the sand now littered with beach towels and prodded with what looked to be thousands of multi-colored umbrellas.

It almost discusted Michelle, having the simple beauty ruined by processed dyes on towels and the sound of plastic flapping on umbrellas, but knowing it'd all go away eventually relaxed her a bit. Besides, she was out here to enjoy the day, not be picky about her own personal pet peeves.

She sighed quietly to herself, calming her slight fit of annoyance as she stepped onto the boardwalk. The sun-warmed wood, dusted lightly with wind-carried sand, seemed to stretch on forever, accompanied by brightly advertised beach stores and overly busy resturaunts.

"Which direction you wanna go?" Matthew asked, shielding his eyes against the slightly blinding sun and looking around.

Michelle paused, pondering over this before turning to the right, "This way!" she decided, grabbing his hand and dragging him along. She hadn't really expected to become excited over this little adventure, but as they walked farther along the faded wood path, spending time at the board walk became more and more appealing.

They eventually paused inside one of the stores, a small building painted in a fairly childish attempt at depicting the ocean. Inside, shelves were covered in the usual beach-front merchandise, from snow globes and other souvenirs, all the way to actually usual things like sunscreen and beach towels.

There were only a few other customers inside the room, though Michelle was sure it wouldn't matter to the manager due to the lack of space. Only one of the others really stood out, a blonde man with eyebrows that looked like they were attempting to take over his face. He looked furious at the world, his tree-sized eyebrows slanted down in an angry scowl. Beside him stood a small boy, around 12 years old, with one of the brightest and most honest smiles Michelle had ever seen.

She thought nothing of it then. People came to the beach all the time, some angry and needing a place to relax like she guessed the eybrow-man was, and some excited and happy with life like the boy.

At the time though, she didn't know just how much this assumption of hers would change within just the next few weeks.

**Ah, so here's chapter one! Pretty weird... I know. It'll get better, I promise! **

***Usually I don't support Francis as the father to Matthew and Michelle, but I figure an Alternate Universe/AU thing where he was would be kind of interesting!**

****Right now I know it seems Michelle kind of has an addiction to the ocean, but her reasons will be revealed. She's not insane ;P **


End file.
